2a (Argentum’s Song – PG)

Martha watched with a mixture of admiration and disappointment as the lanky youth, with the fur poncho and huge sword slung on his back, diffused the potential violence between Ladin and the massive barbarian that had just saved them from the monsters. She had been half hoping that Ladin would get some of what he deserved. However, a quick glance around the caravan showed that Franklin and the other two guards were getting ready to face off with the barbarians if worse came to worse, and she had to grudgingly respect the younger boy’s intuitive skill at dampening his mentor’s temper and keeping things from coming to that.

She returned her gaze to Argent, that was what the big one had called him before they had examined the corpses. It was strange, they had been travelling together for weeks but this was the first she had heard his name.

When the two barbarians had joined their caravan she had tried to befriend him as he seemed to be within a year or two of her and Franklin’s ages. He had even returned her smile and she thought she might have a chance at breaking through his shy silence. Then Franklin waltzed over and started loudly telling her about what the ‘ignorant barbarian youth’ had done with the cutlery at meal time. He pretended to suddenly notice Argent and quickly moved between the two of them with his hand protectively on the hilt of his sabre.

That had crushed any chance at getting to know Argent better as he apparently assumed that she shared Franklin’s disdain of him and had nothing to do with either of them after that. She certainly wasn’t going to go chasing him if he didn’t have the ability to give her the benefit of the doubt, and up until now she hadn’t considered it any great loss.